Lavender Fox
by Ifrit Morningstar
Summary: What if Danzo took his plans a step further, what if he killed Tsunade and Naruto was blamed for her death by the village? Now running for his life with the only person he can trust, he is about to show everyone what happens when you corner a fox...
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto, if I did, it would go exactly as this fanfiction will play out. XD!

**A/N: **This is a joint fanfiction between me and my co-writer. Hope you enjoy the mayhem about to unfold.

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

The man ran for all he was worth, through the brushes and trees, and even through vines of thrones, he ran desperately to escape. He hoped to get as lost as he could in the thick foliage, aiming that if he could get as far into the forest, he could hide and wait out. But for all his running, he could feel the heat of eyes upon him, looking at him from the shadows wherever he turned. His fear grew as did the shadows that seem to lurk over him, threatening to crash down and drown him in their cold embrace. The sounds of crushed leaves and twigs were like bombshells to his ears, every noise seemed to echo around him like a signal to the ones he was trying to get away from.

In his growing panic, he failed to lift his right foot high enough to miss the gapping root from an old oak tree. His foot caught on the old piece of wood and his world spun down before his face slammed into the icy ground from the approaching winter. He cried out in surprise and tried vainly to get back on his feet, but then he felt…that leering feeling that had been chasing him since he made his escape. It crawled up his spine like the cold air against his skin, and he could almost feel his pursuer smile before a blur appeared before him. Shocked by the suddenness of it all, he fell backward onto his back and gaped up at the towering figure.

"P-Please! I didn't mean to make anyone angry! It was just a bit of fun!" he pleaded up at this person.

"I used to do things for a bit of fun…then I grew up," the figure shot back, stepping toward him.

"No! I beg you! I can pay you more than what they've offered; I can make you a partner! You'll have everything you've ever wanted, I swear…just don't kill me!" he begged.

His plea went unanswered. From behind, he felt something strike him hard and sharp just below his left shoulder-blade. The blow felt like a knife had skewered him straight through, but there was no blood, no sudden feeling of warmth leaking out of his body, and yet, his world began to fall dark and his heart slowed down to a dead halt. The man fell dead, his face turned to the side for the figure to see the look of confusion on his face.

"I hate it when they beg like that…it's pathetic, really," the figure said before giving the dead body a light kick with his foot, turning the face away from him.

"You would think a merchant like him would understand…this is just business," another voice said, a more feminine, and yet cold tone one.

The figure just grunted in contempt before pulling out a scroll from the inside of the blood-red trench-coat he wore. He opened it and placed the seals inked on it over the corpse, then sent a pulse of chakra into the seals and the corpse disappeared in a puff of smoke, entering the storage scroll where it would be preserved and kept in good condition until it was released.

The tall man looked up at his partner. "Let's get this trash to the client's location and collect the money."

She nodded, and they both vanished from the air.

**))))))))))**

Teriu Tanaka drummed his fingers nervously on his desk. The carrier hawk with a crimson red vest bore at him with its piercing gaze as he read the letter the hawk had just delivered, waiting on him to finish so it can return to its den. Winter winds were never fun to fly in, and it would only get harder to fly as the mountain winds will start blowing down into the valley. But it was breed to be the best messenger and it would wait until the man read the letter, then see if he had a reply, as it was its duty to perform, before moving an inch from its perch on the man's desk.

Tanaka sighed, feeling the greatest weight he ever had in his life just fade away. He put the letter down and gave the hawk a treat for its hard work and gave it the signal to leave; there was no need to make a reply, because in a matter of time he could give his reply personally.

The hawk took the treat eagerly, knowing it will need the energy for the tough flight ahead. Gobbling down the meaty morsel, it immediately flew out the opened window and screeched its departure into the cold, night air and gained attitude.

Tanaka watched it for a brief moment before returning his attention to the letter it had delivered, feeling glad the deed was done at last, and so quickly as well. He did not expect to hear anything from the two mercenaries he had hired only a day ago to handle the task he needed done. It was a delicate matter for him as it involved his own daughter, who was even now just recovering from the trauma she was forced to endure. It was a disgrace what happened, but he had to keep the matter quiet because of the political backlash that would hurt him if anyone learned what happened; which led him to the desperate act of hiring mercenaries, not shinobi; who could at some point use the information in some form of blackmail.

That was why he hired these particular mercenaries. They had a reputation for getting any job done, no questions asked, and they had a blood-sealed contact with their clients that prevented them from ever speaking of the job they have taken on; that in itself had been a deal-clincher for him, but what really made him decide to hire them was their reputation of making all their objectives look like natural causes. No trails would be led back to him, or them, so no one could ever learn the truth.

While he was reminiscing, he never noticed two shadows appear in his office before they stepped out into the light.

"We will take our payment now," the tall, crimson coated man stated in a direct tone.

Tanaka jerked in surprised and turned to face them. "Ah, Fox and Orchid! Yes, I have your payment here." He reached into his desk and pulled out a small red box filled with gold bars. "As you requested." He placed the box on the top of his desk and pushed it forward gently for them to inspect.

The feminine mercenary, or who he believed was a woman, because her slender frame and curvy figure. Any other details were hidden by the plain white Anbu-style mask with a blood-red orchid painted around her left eye hole. Her feature was hidden in a lavender trench coat suitable for a woman. Her forearms and hands were completely wrapped in bandage wrappings, and her delicate feet were in traditional sandals with more bandage wrappings around her ankles and half way up her shin. The only other visible sign of her femininity was her extremely long, lavender hair, which reached down below her hips, with two long bangs that descended down to just below her chest. She approached the box and stared at it, as if examining it in some way he could not understand, then nodded to her partner and quickly took the box, sliding it into her sleeve where it somehow disappeared.

The tall man was as much a mystery as his partner was. Along with his trench coat, he too, wore an Anbu-style mask, but his was the traditional designed animal, a fox. Unlike his partner, though, he wore black armguards and fingerless gloves in place of bandage wrappings. His legs were protected by light shinobi armor greaves, and his feet were covered in the same black sandals as hers. Like her, too, his only physical feature was his long, spiky locks of sun-kissed blonde hair.

"The target was taken out in the designated area and made to look like he died of a simple heart attack," the man said gruffly. "The estimated time of discovery of the body will be in two days when his business partners start looking for their benefactor when he doesn't return from his evening jog."

"Perfect, I know you don't seem to care for praise, but you have mine, nonetheless," Tanaka said, bowing his head till his forehead touched the desk, then slowly rose back up.

Fox decided to give the man a short nod. "You kept your end of the deal and delivered our exact payment…and you alerted no one of employing our services."

Tanaka swallowed nervously from the sheer force of the gaze this mercenary emitted from behind his mask. He understood very well the danger had he double-crossed this man. Before he hired them, he had his people gather as much information on them as possible. What he learned when someone tried to backstabbed them shook him to the core. It turned out a petty shipyard owner had hired the two to protect his newly-made ship from a group of missing-nin that had been plaguing the coast. On the third day after the ship sailed, the ship was attacked…what was reported after the ship made port to its destination is still spoken in frighten whisper. The sailors that saw the raid spoke of how the sea around the ship turned red from the massacre that followed, it wasn't too long before local sharks had arrived and took care of the remaining survivors. The captain had asked why did they butcher in such a gory fashion, Fox had told the man that he just killed three of them, the sharks just happen to be around to deal with the other rogue shinobi that were in the bloody water at the time. The crew knew otherwise. The sea-line they sailed was infested with sharks; it was a sailor's death if he fell into those waters. To intentionally provoke their bloodlust by filling the sea with blood would send the sharks into a mad feeding-frenzy…the raiding shinobi never had a chance.

Like their reputation stated…they used 'natural' causes.

But the real horror was when they arrived to port only to find several dozen shinobi from various minor hidden villages, but all of them wanted one thing: their heads. Because of their known handiwork and rapidly growing reputation, some of the villages believe they are the next rising Akatsuki. They were considered nothing but a threat to the entire shinobi world, as had Akatsuki proved when their real motives had been discovered, and they feared these two were the last remaining members of that organization. But because they did not know their true identities or what village they hailed from, they could not place them in the Bingo-book. Rather, they were given a flee-on-sight order should they ever encounter the two powerful people.

Unfortunately, some of the countries thought it would be better to put bounties on their heads and kill them as quickly as possible. So they were treated like civilian bounties…the most highly sought after pair of heads in the entire world. Just killing one of them would put a man or woman up for life. The price was too tempting for anyone to use good sense and forget the flee-on-site orders. The chance to not only make a name after defeating such powerful people, but to become filthy rich afterwards was just too much for the most greedy of men. It did not take a genius to understand that Fox and Orchid had been set up to be killed after they fulfilled their purpose. What happened next was still in debate because those that had actually seen it could not believe it themselves.

The sky and ocean turned on everyone.

That was the closest explanation the survivors of that incident could describe it. Fox was a terror of raging wind, moving so fast he left a crimson afterglow in his wake, and where that glow had past, the ground drowned in blood as the victims of his attacks were rendered to ragged pieces of sliced flesh and bone. From the sea, waves of dagger shaped water impaled the unfortunate souls that had been lingering close to the docks. Those that missed being stabbed were grabbed by the deadly water and dragged down below. The entire event lasted only a few seconds and every single shinobi that had been there to kill them were now dead or drowning in the sea, the water having pulled all the dead bodies and pieces to be lost and made more shark feed for any nearby predators. Fox and Orchid quickly left the port and disappeared. A week later, the shipyard owner was found dead in his office, his office vault had been emptied but no sign of breakage was visible on the vault. He man's death looked one of pure terror and pain. When the doctors had finished examining him, they learned that his entire chakra network had been burned out completely, even the faint trail of whatever may have done this could not be found because of the serious extended damage done to his chakra coils; they were completely gone. The man had died the worst way than any poison or amount of physical pain could be inflicted on a human being.

But for people like Tanaka, it was a message: Never break a deal or you will suffer greatly.

He was glad he had paid extra for his informants to learn these tidbits, he made him understand just what kind of people he would be dealing with…and he was glad he also was a square dealer. His hands were bloody from some of the deeds he had to do to keep his business going, and to protect his family, and he would do whatever it took to do what needed done. His daughter was his only family, and he was shaping her to take over his business once she was ready, then he could maybe start enjoying some of the money he had worked so hard on making. For anything to happen to her was a knife stab to him, and he would retaliate as called for, which is what he did when he learned that a local petty merchant had been seducing her and making her believe he was in love with her. In truth, the pathetic little insect was trying to use her to get to his fortune by impregnating her, and then blackmail him if he does not wed his daughter and become the next head of the business, he would let it be known that his daughter had brought shame to herself and her family by sleeping with random men and was carrying a bastard child.

It could not happen.

His daughter, rather than bring any shame to her father, had an abortion to kill the man's threat and proof to his deeds. The act had nearly destroyed her, but she stood firm and returned to her duties as was expected of her without word. Tanaka would make this man pay for what he had done to his little precious girl. So he picked the two people that would not only kill the man that had hurt his child, but keep them both clean of any political backlash that could cripple them both, thus he hired these two.

"Once again, thank you for taking care of this matte for me," Tanaka said, sitting up from his chair. "You have my eternal gratitude and my daughter's. Should you need any aid in the foreseeable future, know that I will do all I can."

Fox did not say a word as he glanced over to his partner, who turned to meet his masked gaze. After a moment, she nodded, and Fox turned back to the man. "If you need our services, you know how to contact us."

They vanished from his office; leaving the business man smiling in relief, and made their way to a hotel they had reserved a room for themselves. They henged their appearance, looking like a random couple, as they entered a grand room with crystal chandeliers lit brightly overhead and emerald marble pillars lining the entrance to the main lobby. They greeted the desk receptionist and quickly made their way to the elevators, going to their floor. Once in the privacy of the elevator, Orchid gently wrapped her arms around Fox's left arm and leaned her head against his should. In response, he leaned more toward her and placed a hand on hers and squeezed it lightly. By when the elevator opened, they separated and started chatting happily, as an elderly man and his wife were waiting on the other side of the doors. They smiled happily at them, their henge giving them faces to express whatever they wanted, and quickly exited the elevator, and Fox held it open for the two seniors to enter. Receiving a small thanks, they departed from the doors and quickly entered their room down the hall.

Once they were in the safety of their room, seals they had recently placed within the room activated, making it so no one could see or hear anything from outside the room. It was then that they reached up and removed their masks.

"That was probably the easiest bit of work we had in a while, Hina-chan," Fox said, turning a handsome whisker-cheeked face and amazing cerulean eyes to her.

She greeted his with a pale-eyed gaze and soft smile. "If we had more clients like that man, we'd be set for life, Naruto-chan."

"It's nice to have at least one client we could ask for help," Naruto said, running a hand through his wild locks, revealing a slashed hitai-ate with what barely could be seen the remains of a spiraled leaf.

Hinata caught sight of his headband, frowning some at the memories it carried with it. She still had her own, but she wore it around her arm now, hidden in the sleeve where no one could accidentally see it. It hadn't been too long ago that she proudly wore her headband around neck as a Konoha shinobi. She and Naruto had both lived and protected Konoha, but now…that part of their lives was dead and gone. She missed those times, when things were simpler and innocent, where they had a home and friends they could trust and depend on. All because of one man…

**_((((((((((_**

_The hammer slammed the stand and left a piercing echo throughout the room. From his position in the Hokage chair, one man loomed over everyone with a lazy frown on his face. Standing beside him was his new adviser, a stoic of a man with bandages wrapped around his right arm and a crisscrossed scar on his chin. He peered down at the Hokage and gestured with his remaining arm at a young man bound in chains and chakra seals in the middle of the council room._

"_You must past judgment on this failed excuse of a shinobi, Hokage-sama," Danzo said with a final tone._

"…_What a drag," Nara Shikamaru spoke, readjusting the Hokage hat on his head for the eighth time. It just would not settle on his head, even after he moved his pineapple-style pony down to his neck. It was as if the hat did not wish to be on him and left falling forward, like a hand was constantly trying to pull it off him. "Let's get this over with…as troublesome as it is. I'd just assume let Naruto go and resume his role as a loyal shinobi, as he's proven himself to be."_

"_But he killed Tsunade!" a councilman cried._

_Shikamaru glared at the man. "He was assigned to protect Lady Tsunade until she woke up from her coma, from what I heard, he fought with what remaining strength he had after defeating Pein." He was about to just tell them all off and order they release Naruto, but then his motivation to do that quickly vanished and he sighed. He couldn't do that. The council wanted someone to blame for the recent death of Lady Tsunade, and although Naruto had been the one assigned to protect her, he had to be punished for failing that task. The entire village was crying out for his blood. Ironic, after he had saved the village from Pein, they were all calling him a hero, they were calling him something far worse…_

_In the confusion of her unexpected death, a group of unknown shinobi had attacked the Fifth Hokage while she was recovering from her coma. Naruto had been one of the men placed to guard her until she woke up, by who he still had not yet found out, and although he too was recovering from his injuries from the Pein Attack, he had been functional enough for a simple protection assignment, but he failed. He assassins got to her and killed her with a kunai to her heart and for good measure one into her head, just in case she somehow survived the other wound. Once the deed was done, they retreated and managed to retrieved the downed men that Naruto had reported beating until he was overwhelmed by their strategy and cunning. During that time, he had been appointed Hokage by the elders, seeing him as the perfect candidate to take up the mantle, someone young and brilliant as he, even for a Nara, he had promise in the later future. Unfortunately, his first act as Hokage was to place punishment on his friend for failing to keep Tsunade alive. _

_It was ridiculous to blame him for this mess. He hadn't been the one to put the blade in her, but because he was there, the entire village suddenly turned on him, as if on instinct and cried out for his blood. To appease everyone, they had Naruto arrested and he planned to make a full pardon and make the people see the blame was on the mysterious attackers…but his mind could not come up with a logical way to accomplish this task. Thus, here he was now, staring down at his emotional friend and wondering how things had gone this far and so very wrong. _

"_Uzumaki Naruto," Shikamaru sighed, knowing he was damning his soul for what he had to do. "You stand guilty of failing your duties to protect the Godaime, Lady Senju Tsunade, the last of the Senju Clan. You allowed her not only to be killed but you did not find out exactly who it had been that committed the attack, leaving only yourself as the liable one that could have caused her death."_

"_That's bullshit!" Naruto roared up at him, this voice still carrying power even though his chakra was sealed away from him. "You know I'd have rather died than let anything happen to Baa-chan!" _

"_Silence! You are not allowed to speak yet, scum!" an Anbu that was standing next to Naruto said before ramming his fist down over the blonde's face, quieting him quickly. _

"_Don't strike him again, or I will have you killed," Shikamaru warned dangerously. He may have to act like a face for the village, but he was technically the Hokage and he can use the power in that title to carry out a threat. _

_The Anbu nodded in shame and bowed in apology._

"_Now then, Naruto…how do you plea?" Shikamaru asked sternly._

_The blonde made no reply. He just stared at the floor that was an inch from his face, blood leaking from his mouth from where the Anbu had punched him. His body remained motionless and to the untrained eye, it looked as if he had broken and was about to admit to being a failure. The Nara knew the blonde too well. He would never give up and he would not take this lying down. This was one of those moments where the blonde wasn't acting like a loudmouth buffoon, but the powerful man he had become, the man that had been able to defeat the leader of Akatsuki and become the next Toad Sage of Konoha. There was no telling what was going through his mind now, he was too unpredictable to tell when it came to anything. _

_He was willing to wait it out, let Naruto have his moment to clear his head and decide what he felt he needed to say, but like everything in his life, he was cheated out even that moment._

_A random civilian councilman stood up from his seat, thinking the brat had clearly met for his silence to be his admittance for Tsunade's death. "His silence is all we need to make the verdict obvious, Hokage-sama. He is guilty of her death, and the pain and suffering he caused the night he attacked Konoha!"_

"_What the hell are you talking about? Naruto never attacked the village," Shikamaru growled, looking at the man pointed like he just sprouted wings. _

"_No, since there is no point in keeping this a secret anymore. We don't have to hide the fact that this demon is really Kyuubi no Yoko, the Nine-tailed Bijuu!" the councilman declared, pointing hatefully at Naruto. "He has been a blight to this village the moment he arrived and took on that human form. He is a vermin that needs to be eliminated once and more all, and now everyone can see him for what he really is…a real demon!" _

"_Hold your tongue, you nit!" Shikamaru shouted, slamming his fist down on the table. "That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard! The Kyuubi was defeated by the Yondaime years ago!"_

"_No, he wasn't," Danzo said, choosing that moment to speak after remaining quiet for so long. "He never defeated the Kyuubi because it is beyond a single man to do, even the Fourth. He sealed the fox, Hokage-sama...he sealed it inside a baby infant that was born the night the fox attack, and that disgrace on the floor is the result of the Yondaime sacrifice. He is a Jinchuuriki…he's not human at all, just a failed tool that the Third could not shape because his beliefs made him too soft to make the boy into a proper weapon for the village."_

"_Yes, so I say we kill the damn thing and be done with it," a councilwoman said, glaring distastefully at Naruto._

"_No! We cannot kill him, even if he's a failure, the fact that he holds the Kyuubi inside him makes him too valuable to lose," Danzo quickly said before things got out of hand. "We will lock him away, keep him under total surveillance until we can find a way to extract the Kyuubi from him and use its power as it should have been used in protecting Konoha from her enemies…after which, then we can dispose of the remaining husk."_

_Shikamaru tried to talk reason to these idiots, but the idea of just locking him away as Danzo suggested rose a roar of approval from most of the people in the council. He gazed at his father, Nara Shikaku to see him staring back and shaking his head sadly. That signal gesture was all the young Hokage needed to understand that he would not be able to change their minds. They seemed dead-set on punishing Naruto and no matter he looked at it…his career was at an end, killing his lifelong dream of wearing the hat he now had falling off his head. _

"_Naruto…I'm sorry, this has been taken out of my hands," Shikamaru stated, reaching up to catch the hat one more time, but something strange happened. The hat literally flew off his head and landed just a fraction away from Naruto._

_He blonde finally moved. His eyes gazed at the hat and they were filled with the longing he had, the hopelessness that he had fought since childhood to ignore. It how swelled up as the realization of what would happen befell him. He moved to stand and the Anbu that were stationed around him thought he was going for the hat. _

"_Don't stain the Hokage's hat with your filth, demon!" the Anbu yelled, aiming to punch him again. _

_Naruto whipped his head and glared at the Anbu and he froze in pure terror, as did everyone that happened to catch Naruto's gaze. In place of the familiar deep-blue eyes were crimson ones, the pupils slit like a fox's and emitted the most pure form of hatred ever to exist. His body began to glow with red chakra, a feat many were very scared to see as that impure chakra coated him like a cloak and melted away his chains, burned off the seals that were meant to hold his chakra from being used. His hair spiked up and his face morphed into a pure animalistic image. Fangs grew from his mouth as his whisker-like scars deepened in definition, the skin around his eyes wrinkling sharply to intensify his murderous eyes. _

"_I've given everything that I am for this village," Naruto finally spoke, bending down to pick up the Hokage hat. "I've sweated, bleed, and cried all my pain and sorrow into keeping its safe from harm, just so one day I could prove that I wasn't the Kyuubi, but me! Uzumaki Naruto-no…not just Uzumaki…I am Namikaze Naruto!" _

"_You dare use the Yondaime's last name!" Tsume growled in pure outrage. She had nothing against this boy, she along with every shinobi in this village that had seen this boy suffer sympathized for him, but for him to blatantly use the respected Yondaime's name was pure defiance and ignorance._

"_Yes, I do dare you damn bitch!" Naruto roared back at the woman, who flinched and even whimpered some at the sheer force of his voice, leaving her instinctively submissive. "My father had put a fail-safe seal inside the one he put on me to contain the Kyuubi. He did it so that if for some reason I was tricked into letting the fox out, he would stop me and fix the seal and keep the Kyuubi contained and safe from hurting anyone. He spoke to me and revealed the truth…but now…now I see his sacrifice was all in vain, all his hard work spat on by the people he had loved." Naruto then did the most unthinkable. He gripped the hat with both hands and with a roar of rage, he tore it in two. "This place can burn to the ground for all I care now! I should have let Pein do as he wanted to all of you, he was right from the start! I didn't want to believe, because like my father, I too, thought better of everyone and wanted nothing more than to see everyone safe." He pointed a now clawed finger at Shikamaru. "I hope that seat is comfortable for you, because you now carrying the curse that's befallen everyone whose sat there before you! I no longer care for your job, you can have it! I'd rather shit on it before I even touched that seat with my ass!" _

_Right after he made that colorful declaration, he made a signal hand-sign and the room was flooded with smoke, and leaving what was once just Naruto now stood several enraged Narutos; all of them looking ready to kill. Each one of them reached for the other's hands and in them conjured the Rasengan and charged at everyone from all directions. Instinctively, the civilian portion dove for cover, whimpering in fright. The shinobi half all readied to subdue the angry blonde once they evaded his initial attack, but when they expected him to retaliate, they were sadly mistaken. All the Narutos continued forward, using their Rasengan to drill an exit out of the council chamber, where they darted off in a flicker of red light. _

_It only took a mere fraction of a second for the new Hokage to understand that Naruto wasn't attacking, he was making his escape. He had half a mind to let him go, let him escape the pain that had been inflicted on him by everyone he fought so hard to save…but then his rational mind betrayed him and saw the dangers of he let the blonde go. As Danzo said, he was too valuable with the Kyuubi sealed inside him, marking him forever. He had to be caught before he got away, because now there was no telling what would happen, now that this new enraged Naruto seemed to have turned his faith away from Konoha. If he wasn't stopped now, he could very well become something far worse than Orochimaru or Pein ever were. _

"_Anbu! Go after and capture Naruto! We cannot let him escape!" Shikamaru ordered swiftly. _

_The shocked Anbu bolted into action and pursued the clones through the various holes he had made. They scattered all over the village for the multiple blondes, but they found that the chase was going to be harder than they believed. What might have seemed like a desperate act turned out to be an ingenious maneuver. Because of the distinctive feel of the Youki chakra that Naruto was now using, it should have been easy to trail and capture him, but with Kage Bunshin that he was so famous for imploring, all that youki was now running randomly all throughout Konoha, confusing their senses, even the sensor type shinobi could not make heads or tails of the real Naruto from his clones. It did no good when they tried to dispel the clones to limit the chase. Whenever one was destroyed, a remaining clone would create more clones and they scattered out even more and in number. It just proved that once again, the blonde knew how to outrun and hide from the village's Anbu Corp, their bane since he could walk…_

_Had they bothered to think a bit more closely, they would have spotted a henged Naruto making his way calmly to Training Ground forty-four, otherwise known as the Forest of Death. If he could hide out in that place, he could let the patrols tire themselves out from searching outside the village. At least, that was his plan. It all depended on him reaching the forest, then he could easily hide out and use nature chakra to keep a lookout for anyone looking for him in there, and he could quietly make his escape by having the Toads summon him back to Mount. Myoboku. Once he was back in friendly territory, he could then decide what to do next. _

_His trek came to a halt when two people found him. One of them being his old academy instructor, Umino Iruka. The scarred faced teacher was frowning deeply as he stared at the Naruto with a heavy sadness in his eyes. The other was a classmate of his and friend, the one person he had wanted to be around after Pein was defeated. Her declaration of her feelings before she charged head on at Pein had pulsed in his heart, and he was very confused about it, but a part of him deeply was moved by what she said to him…but now, everything had changed. _

"_Don't get in my way," he warned them._

"_No, Naruto," Iruka said, crossing his arms over his chest as he started to scout the area around him, then looked at Hinata. "How is it?"_

"_None of the Anbu are nearby; the clones had done a good job at drawing them away," Hinata said, her Byakugan full activated and looking all around for them. "We have to act fast!"_

"_W…What is going on, Iruka-sensei?" Naruto said desperately, feeling very confused. _

"_We're getting you outta here," Iruka replied quickly, reaching over and taking Naruto by the arm. "I won't stand and let my otouto be a scapegoat, not after all you did for this ungrateful village."_

"_We were waiting for you outside the council room, as were some of our other friends," Hinata said, hesitant to reveal that it was only five of their friends that had jumped in to help. _

_Her cousin Neji and his two teammates were aiding in making sure a clean route was ready for Naruto to use to make his escape. Her own teammates, Kiba and Shino were setting up some surprises for whoever followed, and once they were sure Naruto was safely gone, they would cover up his track; being experts on tracking, they knew how to hide their tracks when they wanted to not be followed. Everyone else had chosen their own views of the situation. _

_Naruto seemed to sense that not all their friends had warrant favor into helping him. He was partly hurt some of them would change their option of him, even after all he's done to help, but after all he had seen and heard, he wasn't in the least bit surprised they had. "…So what now, and do the others that aren't helping know?"_

_Hinata shook her head sadly. "We had to keep this from them….T-They didn't respond well once they learned the news that you were responsible for killing Lady Tsunade. And of course, Ino and Chouji will do whatever Shikamaru says, as they are his teammates…"_

"…_And Sakura?" _

"_Right here!" a voice cried out over him. _

_He vanished from the spot that a chakra-strengthened fist had just struck, leaving a gaping crater in his place. Naruto reappeared next to Hinata and Iruka. Staring in sorrow at his only remaining teammate….whose eyes were burning with utter hatred toward him. _

"_You will not escape, Naruto!" she declared, pulling her hand free from the rumble and pointed at them. "And neither will you two for conspiring against the village to aid this criminal!" She readied to charge at them, but then a blur appeared behind her and a hand chopped at the back of her neck, knocking her out cold. _

"_Damnit, Sakura…I can't believe you of all people would turn on him like this," a one-eyed shinobi with gravity-defying grey hair sighed in disgust, then looked up at his blonde student. "Sorry for not getting her in time…I…I didn't expect her to attack you, Naruto-san."_

"_Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said, feeling some part of his heart gladden that another of his teachers hadn't turned on him. _

"_Get going now, Naruto," Kakashi warned. "Your clones will keep the Anbu busy…but I don't think it'll keep Danzo's men from finding you."_

"_Danzo? You mean that creepy guy that was with Shikamaru?" Naruto recalled. _

"_Yes, things have gotten too out of hand…and I suspect he is the one behind it all," Kakashi revealed, rubbing his chin some. "I can't prove anything as it's only a suspicion…but I think I can uncover his treachery. Until that time, I'm sorry, Naruto…but you must leave Konoha and never try to return. It's too dangerous and it will take some time to uproot that man's plans." He reached into his Jonin vest and pulled out a scroll. "I managed to get this for you, Naruto…it belonged to your parents. I think it's only right you know everything since the village has turn its back on you, and I know sensei would want you to be as prepared as you can be for what's to come."_

_Naruto caught the scroll, gaping at it in awe. "…This is my parents?" _

_Kakashi smiled at him but only his eye wrinkled to show he was. "It's all that belongs to you, everything that should have gone to you since birth. Use it will, you knucklehead…and get going! I'll handle Sakura and keep her from doing something stupid…again." He quickly reached down and picked her up. "…Goodbye, Naruto." He then shushined out of sight, but not before they all saw the tear fall from his only visible eye. _

"_Come on! We need to hurry. Everyone will want to inspect the sudden earthquake that girl caused," Iruka said quickly, grabbing Naruto and getting him to move._

"_R-Right," Naruto said, still in a slight daze, but then quickly stuffed the scroll in his jacket and followed the two through the route they had made out with the others. _

_It didn't take any time at all for them to reach the Forest of Death, there they met up with Tenten and Neji, who were waving them to hurry._

"_Come on! There are two squads of Jonin and Anbu heading this way!" Neji cried out. _

"_Where's Lee?" Hinata asked worriedly as she reached her cousin. _

"_Don't worry about him…after we felt that earthquake, we figured it was Sakura…so Lee and Gai-sensei are running around the village making their own little earthquakes to keep the village nervous," Neji responded, cracking a rare smile. "But that first one was still too close, so I imagine they're sending people to make sure you haven't tried to use the forest yet to escape."_

"_Kiba and Shino are already in the forest, waiting for you, Naruto," Tenten said, running up and hugging him tightly. "I'm so sorry this is all happening to you…it isn't fair!"_

"_Nothing about being a shinobi is fair," Naruto said sadly, returning her affection with a brief hug. _

_She released him after Neji came over and gently prodded his teammate off him. "Go on…we'll try and deter them as best we can to look somewhere else."_

"_Don't get into trouble over me, please," Naruto said._

"_We won't, if anything, we'll lead them to another part of the forest we thought we saw an ugly shade of orange run off to," Tenten jeered._

_They laughed for a moment, even Naruto after having his favorite color once again bashed. _

"_Now get going you knucklehead!" Neji ordered, pointing to the forest behind him. _

"_Yeah…thanks you guys, for everything," he said, giving them all one last smile and a teary wave, then dashed off into the forest. _

_He didn't get very far when he spotted that Hinata had also run into the forest with him. _

"_Hinata, go back. It'll be dangerous in here and if they see you with me, you'll be arrested," Naruto warned her._

"_I don't care…" Hinata said._

_This made them stop on a very huge branch in the giant forest. _

"_Hinata…" Naruto stared to say, but was stopped when Hinata reached down to her Hitai-ate, which he hadn't noticed was hidden in her jacket until now and gasped. _

_The spiral leaf in the center of it…was gashed deeply. _

"_I've already made my decision, and Neji knows of it and will tell my father when he returns to the village," Hinata said. "I cannot live in a place that doesn't have you, Naruto-kun…I can't look anyone the same knowing they turned their backs on you after all you've done to help Konoha."_

_Naruto could say nothing. This was the first time in his life that he had heard her speak without one pause or stutter in her speech. It was strong and determined, just like the look in her pearl-like gaze she was giving him. Once more, she surprised him by moving toward him and embracing him in a tender hug. _

"_I meant what I said to you when I fought Pein..." Hinata whispered into his chest, not worrying at all about him not hearing it, as she knew he did. _

_His arms wrapped around her and he held her tightly. "You understand it won't be an easy life."_

"_We became shinobi even knowing it wouldn't be easy…and I cannot bear to be without you," Hinata said softly, looking up at him as tears fell freely from her eyes. "You are my home. Wherever you are, it will be perfect for me."_

_Naruto found himself crying after her statement. He hugged her tighter for a moment, burning this moment into his soul so he would never forget, then finally loosened his hold around her and looked into her eyes._

"_Come on, Hina-chan…let's make our own future away from this place," Naruto said and instinctively leaned down and kissed her, once again keeping to his reputation of being the most surprising shinobi in history. _

_Their kiss did not last, as both sensed people entering the forest. _

"_Let's go," Naruto whispered, seeing Hinata nod in agreement._

_The two then leapt away and soon ran into her teammates who had been waiting for them by a river. It saddened them when they learned Hinata would leave also, but both men smiled proudly for her, wishing her well, and then led the two safely to the other side of the forest, departing ways with them once they were clear of the forest. She hugged them both, thanking them for everything they've done, and waved farewell as she and Naruto quietly fled from the Land of Fire, and neither one of them had looked back. _

_**))))))))))**_

Since that day they had been on the run from everyone in the world. Naruto's reputation as a Jinchuuriki and the son of the Yondaime had somehow leaked out, and everyone that had held a grudge against his father had been on the lookout for him, hoping in some way to kill the legacy of the Yellow Flash of Konoha, or as they later found out, capture him and convert him into a weapon for their own uses. A Jinchuuriki was as priceless as the rarest weapons; they were seen as nothing else and were sought after without relent. But as it turned out, Namikaze Minato had made sure his son would be taken care of. The scroll that Kakashi had given Naruto contained all his secrets, including some money he had stashed away in neutral countries for just certain emergencies like these.

Once they had gotten access to them, they had set up a private residence to hold up and work out what to do. As it turned out, the scroll also contained all of the Yondaime's techniques, including theories that he had yet to put into practice. They took all they could learn from that scroll and used it to become as strong as they could, if nothing more than to be able to defend themselves from anyone from Konoha and any other enemies they made. When they decided to start offering their services to people as mercenaries had made some sense, as they were missing-nin and they had the training; the only choice they had now was to become knives-for-hire. Muscle for the odd jobs that even shinobi villages wouldn't take on for clients. Naruto had been the most hurt when he killed his innocence towards the world and took on the cold-persona of Fox, the heartless demon. He would throw himself into his work and do whatever was asked to get the job done; in the end all that mattered was the mission they were hired to do. It was that ruthless determination that earned them the feared reputation they held now.

….But when they were behind walls, when it was just the two of them. That all changed.

Hinata slowly started peeling her trench-coat off, letting it hit the floor and soon was working on the rest of her clothes, as was Naruto when they made their way toward their bedroom. He crawled into bed and sighed tiredly, but smiled warmly when she crawled up against him and nestled down against him, wrapping her arms around him and leaned up to kiss him. He greeted her kiss with his own and soon the two were in a heated, passionate embrace…

And it was in these moments, when neither cared about what they had become in order to survive. They had each other, and they knew what the other felt in their hearts, and to them, that was all they needed in this cruel, bloody world.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto, if I did; it would go exactly as this fanfiction will play out. XD!

**A/N: **This is a joint fanfiction between me and my co-writer.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

The next morning found the two back in their gear and masks as they arrived to one of their spies. Like how they entered their hotel under a henge, the two entered a brothel under a henge as customers and requested one of the girls, one that went by the title of Tulip. She was an enchanting looking woman with skin as white as moonlight and hair the color of emeralds. As they entered her room, the charming smile she wore dropped and she bowed down before them, then reached into her loose yellow kimono and withdrew a scroll and handed it to them.

"This came through the proper channels," she simply said, keeping her head bowed.

Orchid scanned the scroll for any genjutsus that may have been placed on the scroll to hide whatever traps may have been placed on it. Finding none, she took the scroll from Tulip and handed the scroll to Fox, who quickly opened it and read its contents silently. Thanks to the henge he wore, they saw the slight frown on his face as he studied the scroll, his brow narrowing together the further he read.

"Anything wrong, Fox?" Orchid asked him, remaining calm beside him, but inwardly starting to feel nervous. It was rare for him to have such a look on his face. Whatever was sent must have been very important.

"It's a kidnap mission," Fox replied curtly, looking up at her from the scroll. "The client wants someone from Kumo…"

She nearly flinched when he mentioned Kumo. She, like all her clansmen, had cautious feelings toward the people of Kumo; she most of all as she was nearly kidnapped by that village to use as breeding stock to give their village a new bloodline. That kidnap had led to many difficulties later in her life. One of them being the cold resentment from her cousin Neji, as it led to the death of his father rather than hers, as the elders used their barbaric traditions to use a Branch member to sacrifice his life to protect a member of the Main clan. His father, as it was later discovered, chose his fate to be sacrificed as it was his decision, and his way to defile the Main clan family, wanting to protect his twin brother not for fate, but for love. Since then, though, Kumo had continued to try and steal main members of the Hyuga clan, even having attempted once again to kidnap her during a time when Konoha was attacked by the Snake Sannin, Orochimaru.

It was no surprise now why Fox would be somewhat worried, knowing that should anyone from Kumo learn who Orchid, or himself for that matter, were…their masquerade would come to a hasty end.

"The client has chosen to be anonymous, but wants the brother of the Raikage captured and brought to a spot of his choosing," Fox revealed, handing the scroll over to her to read for herself.

"The brother of the Raikage!" Tulip uttered in fear, her delicate lips quivering in dread. "…B-But that's Kirabi!"

"You've heard of this man" Fox said in a tone that was more demanding than questioning.

The spy nodded. "Yes, he is a feared swordsman of Kumo…said to be completely unbeatable, and some even believe he is even stronger than the Raikage himself."

Fox hummed for a moment. "Anything else you know about him?"

"He never leaves the village. He's considered a hero in Kumo and is always reported to be near the Raikage," Tulip said. "It's believed the Raikage is overprotective of his brother and doesn't want him in harm's way…but I think it's more than that."

Fox paused her with a hand. "Whatever the reason, we've been given a mission."

"Do you really wish to accept this?" Orchid questioned, something she had never done before. She trusted his judgment without fail and knew he would take the correct course, but this time she felt something off about this particular request.

Fox did not show he was upset by her reluctance. He had his own doubts himself about accepting this mission, but the client was offering triple their normal pay. It was too tempting an offer…and that was what had him very nervous. There was something about the target that made him curious, as if he somehow could relate to him. The notion quickly disappeared as he focused on the real matter: accept or decline. There was never a mission they had declined yet. They chose that no matter what the mission required of them, they would accept and accomplish it, regardless of the risks…but then why was he feeling a sense of trepidation?

"We accept," he decided firmly. "It's just another mission, regardless of who the target is."

Orchid bowed in agreement, wondering if her own fears were merely unneeded.

Tulip sighed and looked ready to protest against this act, but she held her own tongue. Fox had done much for her and the other spies they had collected into their employment. It was odd how he knew about her 'special' skills and just how to contact her and acquire her aid. One day he appeared in her home, offering to hire her into his service as she had once for a man she once worked for, saying he needed her particular skills to keep an eye on things that may be of importance to him. At first she had half a mind to decline working for him, but then he had brought news of her last employer's recent death, leaving her with no real objection. It may have sounded cruel to have instantly switched allegiances, considering the history she had with her last boss, but in her line of work…you had to do whatever to survive. As it turned out, Fox had never asked her to do anything too dangerous, only to continue doing what she had been doing and report to only him instead of Konoha.

And it turned out to be a smart move on her part. Konoha had turned for the worse after the passing of the Fifth Hokage. There were many rumors circling the once well-respected village, many who were killed for just murmuring them to the wrong ears by accident. Strange men had once appeared where she went, wearing blank masks and following her wherever she went. That all stopped when she started working for Fox. They all disappeared the next day she accepted to spy for him and Orchid, like they never were really there. She knew what happened, though. It wouldn't do for Fox to have a spy who was being tailed the moment he hired one. It was just luck that he already knew about the men following her and still wanted her to work for him. The uncertainty of those men's true goal frightened her to no end, and she was not one bit curious to learn what they may have done with her when they decided to stop just watching her, and instead, chose to take action.

"I will see that the new client is informed of the acceptance," Tulip said.

Fox grunted in reply, his common response in place of saying yes.

He and Orchid spent some time with Tulip afterward, seemingly using that time for as far as the brothel was concerned having their 'fun', but the spy knew the two never did anything more than talk and make plans that only involved her and her cover. Orchid and her would mostly talk, the former hardly given anything away to what may be between her and Fox. The masked woman was very discrete and knew just how to turn the conversation away from things she did not wish to reveal. Fox during that time remained to himself unless he was asked a direct question. Her guess was he was planning out the best course of action of their new objective. She didn't deny she was very worried for them, having formed a bond she never quite thought she would from these two, but she did not wish anything to happen to them if she could help it. She was almost tempted to offer them her bed, being in her line of work she as quite a master in the art of spying and seduction. What stopped her always was what she knew would be their answer, that was one of the major changes from her old employer…Master Jiraiya.

He usually accepted, if not lead to that situation, and she admitted she eagerly accepted his offer…he was very talented himself, and what a lover he was. He knew just how to make a woman feel special, no matter how many women he had slept with before, he made it a point to make the person in bed with him feel like they were his entire focus…she really missed that.

Then finally their time was up and her two secret employers decided with fake, pleased smiles on their henged faces and departed like everyone else that's exited her room. Tulip had no idea why she would escort them out, but she always did. Maybe it was because they were the only people she knew she could rely on not to turn on her, or maybe it was because of the connection the two had for each other. They may have hid it well, but there was a feel between them that was clear for anyone with good instincts. She wondered if it was envy that made her want to stick close to them as long as possible, envy of what they had together. A part of her wanted something like that, someone she could lean on and depend on to help in those dark, sad times, but then she would remember what kind of life she had and how silly it would be if she did get that close to someone. Who would be willing to care for a person that spied as a prostitute, even if she worked in a 'respectable' betrothal, she was still just one. Who could love someone like that?

She quickly put that part of her in the dark corner of her mind where it belonged. She had no illusions in life and she shouldn't ever expect something better to come along until she somehow struck it rich, or she was discovered by an enemy of her employers and was killed and left forgotten in some back alley; like all the common trash. That was the risk she faced every time she woke up and entered her current job, all she had to hope was that she could have a few more fun years before it abruptly stopped dead.

But that didn't mean she couldn't keep dreaming?

When they left, she returned to her charade as Tulip, the wondrous mistress and lady of pleasure, with an alluring smile on her face and scanning the room for potential clients while moving to the back of the room discreetly. Going into one of the secret rooms she and a few other girls used to hide; usually when clients got a bit too rough with particular girls, they would sneak into this room to hide until the bouncers had taken care of the ruffian causing a scene. What many had no idea was that Tulip had added a few barrier seals to hide any trace of chakra that would be used when in the room.

Biting her thumb she then preformed a few, quick hand-signs and slammed her hand on the ground. A puff of smoke appeared and when it cleared, a black rabbit with a grey sash around its neck. It took a moment to uses long back leg to scratch an itch behind its head, and then smiled up at Tulip.

"Hiya, babe! What's the message you want me to deliver?" the rabbit said cheekily.

Tulip smirked and patted the rabbit's head and gave it a treat; a fresh carrot she kept on her at all times. "I need you to inform the anonymous client that the mission has been accepted."

"Okay, while I'm at it, you want me to find out just who this guy is?" the rabbit asked.

Normally, Tulip would just order him to simply deliver the message and then leave before any harm came to her favorite summon, but something about this particular job really had her worried. There was more to it and her instincts never lead her wrong yet; that was how she was able to survive in this line of work. She gave the rabbit another treat, something that gained his complete attention. It was agreed with her summoning contract that whenever more than one treat was given to a member of the rabbit clan, the summoner had something very important that needed to be done.

"I want you, and if you need, other of your family to find out everything you can about this client. I need it done soon and as silently as you can. If you find anything remotely sinister about this client's intentions, I want you to immediately go find Fox and Orchid and alert them of it!" Tulip ordered.

"You can count on us!" the rabbit said, puffing out his furry chest. "We're not the fastest clan in the entire summoning world for nothing!" He swiftly saluted her and was gone in a puff of smoke.

_**))))))))))**_

A quick rustle leaves sounded before two shadows darted out of it, leaping like ghosts from one tree branch to another. They moved as quickly as possible through the forest as they headed toward Konoha. One of the moving shadows was very familiar with the terrain, having been an ambassador between Konoha…and Suna. The other one was even more so, a fact that hadn't been revealed to her apprentice until recent events had been made known to her. She was cursing up a storm under her breath with each leap she took toward the village that has proven to be the bane of her family's life, having rendered it to nearly exist.

"They will suffer dearly and feel the wraith of the Red Death!" a woman with flaming, long red hair hissed venomously for the hundredth time.

"Sensei! You really need to calm down before you have a stroke or something," her apprentice said with concern. A girl with sandy-blonde hair tied back in four pony-tails.

"Shut it, Temari!" the woman snapped. "I've been denied almost everything because of the damn people of Konoha. I won't allow them to get away with it for taking my son away from me!"

"I still can't believe he's your son…but then again, he does act a lot like you," Temari smirked to herself. "I still can't believe you never once heard about him, Kushina-sensei!"

"I blame the damn Hokage and your father for that one!" Kushina replied heatedly. "I don't blame Gaara. I imagine he never learned it because of those self-ardent council members wanting to keep me in their village."

"Still, for the old Sandaime to lie like he did…makes me not really care he was killed the way he was anymore," Temari replied.

"Bastard got off easy, if you ask me," Kushina grumbled, chopping a small branch that was in her path, slicing it cleanly with the chakra her hand was coated in, needing something to vent her unresolved frustration. "But those damned teammates of that cursed monkey, I'm gonna kill 'em. Anyone that was involved. Anybody who profited from it. Anybody who opens their mouth at me!"

Temari had to admit she was pretty ticked off herself with Konoha, especially when Suna learned that they had a warrant out for Uzumaki Naruto's arrest or death. Gaara in pure rage cut all connections with Konoha and had his men inform him should the blonde-haired, whiskered teenager ever appear in the Land of Wind, they were to give him their full support and lead him to Suna where he could be given sanctuary. Strangely, there were never any sightings of the renowned knucklehead. They later figured that Naruto did not trust anyone anymore, and didn't want to take a chance with people that had any connection to Konoha. It was a safe assumption as the council had been pressuring Gaara to re-open negotiations with Konoha to keep in good favor with them, but the young Kazekage would not budge from his decision, having resorted to his old death threats from his younger years to keep them all in line.

Since they cut their ties with the Leaf, Suna had suffer from sever budget cuts from their own Daimyo, until an incident that oddly led to the Sand's salvation. A convoy from Konoha had appeared before the Wind Daimyo, demanding he aid Konoha for the search for the missing Nine-tailed Jinchuuriki. When he denied them their wishes, they then quickly accused him of harboring the criminal, as he was close friends with the Kazekage and believed he was hiding him from them. Finding the accusation insulting, the Daimyo had the convoy removed from his palace.

That very night, the Wind Daimyo was murdered in his bed.

Gaara, who had been visiting the palace to negotiate more funds for his village had saved the Daimyo's son, who had also been targeted that night. With his sand, he had managed to capture one of the assassins, but before any information could be withdrawn from the capture, the assassin activated a self-suicide seal to end his life. The body and some of Gaara's sand had been pulled into a black void-like sphere and the corpse was crushed, destroying any incriminating evidence, but none was needed. It was clear that it was conspired by the Leaf. Whether it was out of spite for being rejected, or to leave the Land of Wind confused and leaderless enough for them to force them to re-ally with them, it didn't matter.

Once the danger had been passed and the son had taken his deceased father's place as Wind Daimyo, he made it clear that there will never be any alliances with the Land of Fire, and he gave his full support to Suna and would do all in his power to boost up its military power. In the days to follow, more assassination attempts had been placed on the Wind Daimyo's life, but each and every time Gaara's most elite people managed to thwart the assassins, and each time those assassins would die from a suicide seal, whether it was self-activated or done by someone else. Either way, it just confirmed time and again that Konoha sought to make the Land of Wind pay for refusing them.

Temari was the most shocked that they would do so, considering that her friend Shikamaru, the Rokudaime, would actually concede to such tactics. His personality just didn't match the behavior Konoha now was expressing to the world. It was just too out of character for someone as lazy as him to want to willingly antagonize the whole Elemental Nations.

But even with all these things going on, the council of Suna had forced Gaara to never reveal any news regarding the Uzumaki boy to one of their citizens…Uzumaki Kushina, who up until a few days ago merely went by Kushina.

The redheaded woman had come to Suna after being found passed out in the middle of the desert by a patrol. She was brought back and healed as best as their medic-nins were capable, and then was interrogated by the Sandaime Kazekage himself, demanding why she was found in their lands. Knowing who she truly was and having sent news to the re-established Sandaime Hokage, he learned from the old monkey that Kushina's son was killed after a failed sealing; a fact the Kazekage knew to be a complete and utter lie as he was too well familiar with the genius of the late Yondaime. So the Kazekage played along with the story that she was told about her son, having died when the Kyuubi had been sealed inside him, wanting to keep one of the remaining Uzumaki in his control for the betterment of Suna. So he _sympathized _with her pain and in return for allowing her sanctuary in Suna, she would take one of his children and train them to the best of her abilities.

Seeing she had nothing else or anywhere to go, she agreed.

And as he promised, he kept her existence a secret from Konoha, but he also kept her ignorant of everything that transpired in her old village. She accepted her role in Suna and the Kazekage was pleased to see that she was content enough to do as he wished. He then had his only daughter be apprenticed under the Uzumaki woman and pressed for all her secrets, especially the complicated art of Sealing; a skill perfected by the Uzumaki clan.

Upon his death at the hands of the traitorous Snake Sannin, Orochimaru, the council of Suna had taken it into their own hands to keep up the rouge and keep Kushina in the dark about her son, so they could retain her skills for the village's sake. They even tried to press more students onto Kushina to train, but none of them met her standards except Temari, who had proven to have the resolve and 'spunk' as she called it for her personal training-style. She allowed Temari to take up the battle-fan, as it fit perfectly with her elemental alignment, and as it was her mother's personal fighting style, but she took it further and trained her until she was far above normal levels for her age, always pushing her beyond her limits to achieve a higher level. And Temari asked for more every time. Each time she pushed the girl, thinking she would start to complain about the training, she just forced herself back up and waited for her next push.

Then during the time when Suna ended their alliance with Konoha, Temari had asked for even more training. The reason for that was she was scared for her brother. She admitted she was nervous with this sudden turn with the Leaf and feared what may come from it, wanting to be ready for whatever may come at them so she could protect her brothers and her village. Kushina, liking her spirit accepted her request and put the poor unsuspecting girl through a living hell unlike she ever thought possible. The redhead didn't just push her beyond her limits, she nearly killed her a number of times, having even forced her to spend weeks in a hospital bed, but never once regretting the reasons that put her there.

The end results proved all that punishment was worth the effort.

She knew she was at a level beyond jonin and she dared say she was a match for any Kage, a fact she proved when she spared with Gaara and had her brother actually panting heavily at the end. It was one of the proudest days of her life when she saw just how strong she had become thanks to her sensei, and she owed her everything for all she had given her, which was why she was here now with her. Kushina had abruptly left to face Konoha on her own to find the answers to why she was lied to about her son, and she knew when her sensei let her temper go, there was much devastation to come. Not that Konoha didn't have it coming, it had far worse considering all the strange rumors she had heard from other countries that traded with Suna still. Things she made her feel very uncomfortable…

"I should never have left Konoha…it was all just too easy when they let me leave!" Kushina had said loudly to herself.

"How could you have known, Kushina-sensei?" Temari remarked. "They were people you trusted, how could you have thought they did what they did?"

"I still should have known, he was my son, I am his mother…I should have known he was alive and well," Kushina replied, a hint of tears pooling in the older woman's eyes.

Were they anyone else, Temari would have made a snide remark toward the blonde idiot. She still could not grasp the fact that the woman who had been her teacher and the closest thing to a mother-figure in her life…was the mother of the biggest, loudest shinobi she had ever known. Although, she had to admit she respected Naruto very much. He was brash and could be very irritating with his upbeat attitude with his goal to become Hokage. Had the manners of a pig and no idea of subtlety and seemed to have the worst instincts when it came to being a shinobi. And yet, no matter what he is faced with, what overwhelming opponent he was forced to fight, he was the one that came out on top. That was a great mystery to everyone until his status as a Jinchuuriki had been made known to the world…except to Kushina, who had revealed to her that she was the former container of the Nine-Tailed Fox, until an incident led to the death of her husband, and at the time she believed, her son.

At first, she thought being the container of the most powerful of all the Bijuu would explain why Naruto always seemed to win, but then as she recalled all his ventures from Shikamaru, he never once seemed to show signs of using the fox that much.

Her respect deepened when she saw his concern when her brother Gaara was kidnapped by the Akatsuki, that determined look in his eyes to save him from their clutches. She admired him for his devotion to the people he considered his friends. So in a way, for all his faults, he easily up for them with his strong will and loyalty to his friends…what a waste Konoha made with him.

Her musing came to an end when Kushina dropped down from the trees suddenly and drew a kunai.

Temari landed down next to her, whipping out her battle-fan and scanning for whatever put her sensei on edge. That is until she felt a presence, a very cold and distant presence materializing from a spiraling warp in reality before a man with a white mask that covered his most his head, and oddly had tomoe-shaped eye-holes revealing a menacing red eye with shuriken-like shape markings and one imposing pale eye with black rings circling the iris. His attire looked as if he was readying for a great battle, carrying a huge war fan on his back.

"You!" Kushina spat, pointing her weapon at the man's masked face.

"Ah, so you truly have been alive all these years, Kushina-kun," the man said in a jovial manner.

Kushina tensed and snarled the contempt she obviously had for this man. She immediately could tell she was no match for this man, even if she still had the fox inside her, she would have a hard time fighting this man, and she could already sense a few others lurking the shadows around them. Somehow they had set up a trap around her, and she gritted her teeth in frustration as she realized that his man knew she was heading to Konoha. This could only mean she was betrayed by the council, or someone had been keeping taps on her during her self-imposed exile from the Land of Fire.

"Temari!" Kushina said suddenly, gaining the attention of her apprentice. "When I tell you to run, you go. No argument about staying and aiding me…this man is at a level even beyond me, and you're not quite ready to face him by yourself."

"Who is this man?" Temari asked.

"Me?" the masked man uttered, pointing at himself. "Hmm, I've used many names…can't recall all of them, but lately I've gotten used to being called Tobi…but…really I go by the name of Uchiha Madara."

"M-Madara?" Kushina gasped, not able to keep the shock from her face.

"Surprised? Yeah, I get that a lot when I reveal that to people!" the man proclaiming himself as Madara said with that same jovial tone. "Aren't surprises like this fun!"

"This guy's a loon…" Temari uttered.

"He may be…but this is the man that caused all my problems before I left Konoha," Kushina revealed quickly. "Don't underestimate him and his power for a second!"

Madara nodded vigorously. "Yep, listen to her, girlie! I would hate to kill you too soon before I've had any fun!"

"I will not allow that to happen….Dattebayo!" Kushina declared with firm confidence.

"Ugh, that phrase always get under my skin…One of the many things I despise about your son," Madara hissed lowly.

Kushina narrowed her eyes. "You know him?"

Madara shrugged. "This and that, but enough to know he's been a pain in my plans since he disappeared after those morons in Konoha actually tried to have him executed two years ago." He shook his head sadly. "It's ignorance and blind-hatred like theirs that I hate the most, though. Those people have no idea what's really going on underneath their very eyes, it's laughable."

"What? You mean what really happened when the Godaime was killed?" Temari interjected.

"Mayyybeee!" Madara teased annoyingly, tilting his masked head to the side.

"Hmph! You're too well informed about things no one else should know. You're _the_ person that would know the real truth," Kushina deduced.

"True, true," Madara admitted, bobbing his head as he nodded. "The question is would you believe what I said was the truth or not?" Their silence was enough of an answer for him. He dramatically sighed. "What's come of trust nowadays?"

"I'm getting tired of hearing you prattle on. I need to return to Konoha and not even you will stop me!" Kushina stated.

"Actually, I will stop you. That's why a little birdie told me where you were," Madara revealed, smirking behind his mask as he saw their shocked expression. "Yes, it was quite a helpful tip from Danzo. He had one of his cute, little nins come and inform of your movement. I guess he wants to see that you really are dead; not that I mind. I want to finish up what I started that night…you've been a naughty girl keeping yourself hidden for this long from me!"

"Danzo? You mean, that one-eyed elder?" Temari uttered.

"Oh, he's far from one-eyed, dearie!" Madara said. "But that's something I plan to correct soon enough, but lately he's been pretty fun to watch as he tries playing out his own little agenda. It'll make mine all that easier to implement once I get bored of him."

"Wait!" Temari gasped as all the clues she had been wondering about all the past and current events surrounding Konoha finally started to come together. "Danzo has been behind everything? He's the one responsible for the assassination of the Wind Daimyo!"

"It's deeper than that," Madara said, choosing to tattle a bit on the one-eyed warhawk. "He's the real reason for all the misfortune that has befallen Naruto-kun before he ran away from his beloved home. Ku, ku, ku!"

"D-Danzo?" Kushina gasped out as tears started to pour from her eyes as they started to cloud over with rage. "He…he's responsible?"

"Oh, yes!" Madara continued, liking the reaction he was seeing from her. It almost tempted him to just let her and her little apprentice leave and have her revenge on the warhawk…almost. He had his own plans for the ambitious fool, and he could not afford anything happening to him just yet…not until reclaimed what was rightfully his. "It's a real pity you're only learning about all this now, Kushina-kun! All these years you've lost with your son, because you both believed the other was dead." He reached for the war fan on his back. "But don't worry your pretty red head over it. I plan on making that story true once I've killed the both of you, then at least you can all be together in death!"

He expected Kushina to blindly attack him, like so many emotionally unbalanced opponents. He expected her to declare his death at their hands before the day was done. What he did not expect at all was for Kushina to suddenly whip out dozens of flash seals and throw them all before her.

He just barely managed to shield his eyes when they started going off randomly, wondering for a split second the futile attempt to escape him. He already made his body invulnerable to any physical attack, believing the Red Death was aiming to catch him off guard long enough to strike him down, but he never felt the familiar passing of foreign objects through any part of his body. When no other form of attack had been made a split second longer, he widened his eyes in realization of what really happened.

"That was foolish, Kushina..." he said, the blinding light faded, revealing only Kushina standing before him now. "You should have booked along with your apprentice while you had surprised me."

"At least this way, I can keep you and the rest of your men busy while she gets away," she replied, already seeing the multiple forms of black and white humanoid beings rising up from the ground and trees all around her.

"Hmm, I was just after you…I'm not someone to waste my time on pointless chases," Madara stated in a very sudden cold voice, his eyes glowing their respective color as he activated them. "Let me send you to your husband!"

Kushina waited for what was to come, knowing what awaited her as the masked man and his bizarre creatures descended on her. Her only regret was never getting to see her son one more time before she met the Shinigami, but in a way she was relieved. She knew her son was safe, her apprentice was getting away, and very soon…she would reunite with her beloved husband.

"…Minato, I'll be joining you soon," she whispered under her breath as she flared all her chakra through her being.

She would make this battle one even this crazy man would remember, remind the world why she was considered the Red Death of Konoha…and why no man should ever threaten and harm a mother's child before she drew her last breath.

_**))))))))))**_

The leaves shuddered in the forest as the wind howled as if weeping. Fox came to a sudden halt upon the branch of an old tree as he felt something inside him suddenly go cold and dead, leaving an empty hole in his being. He gasped as it almost left a physical pain in his chest and he looked up at the greying sky in wonder. A rain drop descended from the waiting heavens and landed on his mask, rolling down his cheek and over the edge of his mask. It was soon followed by more rain drops, pouring over the forest as the wind continued to grow in sadness. Fox paused to touch his mask where the rain drop had touched before feeling more water pour down his cheek. It took a long moment before he realized that the drops falling his eyes were not from the sky, but were in fact his own tears.

"Fox?" Orchid asked with deep concern, feeling something very amiss with her partner.

"H-Hinata-chan?" he muttered with a weak tone that she had never heard from him ever since their exodus.

Something compelled her to take him into her arms and hug him close, not really caring why. She just knew he needed comfort for some reason, and she was there for him as he was always there for her.

"I'm here, Naruto-kun….shhh, shhh," she whispered his name into his ear softly, petting his locks as he became limp in her arms.

"Something's wrong…so very wrong," Naruto cried into her shoulder.

"We'll find out what happened, my love. We'll fix it and make whoever wronged it, pays," Hinata promised him.


End file.
